As homes get smarter, homeowners are expecting the same intelligence and control from their pool. Today, that means a fully integrated, smart backyard that gives them the same level of control they have inside the house. For today’s pool professionals, managing those expectations while dealing with labor shortages, complex wiring schematics, and the inevitable weekend service emergency can feel like a juggling act.

Jandy’s AquaLink^® EDGE^™ automation system puts an end to the manual juggling. Designed with pool professionals in mind, the EDGE platform delivers pool automation that connects people, equipment, and experiences seamlessly. It represents a massive leap forward in pool service

Here are five groundbreaking features within the EDGE platform that can simultaneously elevate the customer experience while making the service pro’s everyday operations significantly easier.

1. Integrated Architecture

Field labor is at an absolute premium today, so every minute saved at the equipment pad has an impact on a business’s bottom line. Traditional automation setups frequently require mounting external power supplies, sub-panels, and secondary control boxes to handle peripheral features like low-voltage lighting or saltwater chlorination. 

AquaLink^® EDGE^™ uses preassembled kits and a highly integrated internal architecture that streamlines the entire automation setup. It features the industry’s first integrated low-voltage LED power supply built directly into the system, eliminating the need for standalone external transformers. Plus, a built-in saltwater card utilizes the exact same internal power architecture, creating a completely streamlined system.

By removing extra wiring bottlenecks and points of failure, crews can complete high-end installations with greater speed, consistency, and confidence. 

“I like this unification of it where it’s more like creating an operating system that everything can plug into,” notes Ryan of Prestige Pool and Patio. “The professionals do the professional things and the customer gets to do the customer things.” 

2. EDGE Insight

Historically, service companies have operated reactively. It’s a blistering-hot Saturday, and homeowners are calling left and right for emergency service.

EDGE Insight is a diagnostic system that provides real-time visibility into equipment health and system performance. Instead of waiting for a component to fail completely, EDGE Insight monitors performance metrics and sends proactive notifications regarding system anomalies directly to the professional. Technicians can spot declining flow rates, chemical variances, or heater communication glitches before the pool owner ever notices a change in their water. 

It’s all easily managed through the Fluidra Pro app for 24/7 insight to customers’ systems.

Mike Donnelly of Crystal Beach Pools stresses the value of this insight: “I really like the idea of getting a heads up before a client knows… If I’m getting a message telling me this isn’t working now and I can get it dealt with before the person even notices, that makes my life measurably better.”

3. Integrated Touchscreen

It’s a horror story that’s all too common: a technician stands in the blazing sun or pouring rain at an equipment pad, struggling to sync a mobile app over a weak backyard WiFi signal just to check a relay or test an actuator.

AquaLink^® EDGE^™ eliminates this frustration via an integrated touchscreen right on the local control panel that’s glove-and-wet-hand-friendly. Technicians have complete, immediate access to system configuration, diagnostic logs, schedules, and manual overrides directly at the pad—no laptop, smartphone, or internet connection required. 

Plus, that insight through the Fluidra Pro app will help you prepare before you even get to the jobsite. “It’s telling you before you even know it yourself, which is beautiful,” says Kelsey Wolfenbarger of Republic Pools/Pool Service Bros. 

There’s no reliance on a home’s network during a standard service routine, so crews can execute diagnostics, address a problem, and move on to the next job quickly. If an accidental setting change ever does occur, the cloud-based EDGE Vault automatically backs up system configurations, allowing a technician to restore complex schedules instantly and prevent costly downtime. 

4. Personalized User Profiles

User error can be a huge pain point in pool management. Homeowners hoping to avoid the cost of a service call dive into advanced settings, accidentally altering pump speeds or filtration cycles and disrupting their pool’s hydraulic balance. Innocent mistakes can have big consequences in the finely-tuned machinery of a pool.

AquaLink^® EDGE^™ mitigates this problem with structured User Profiles. The software establishes a clean line of demarcation between the professional installer and the consumer. 

• Homeowners get a beautiful, intuitive in-home interface focused on lifestyle features like “Scenes,” temperature adjustments, and lighting controls.
• Service companies can assign individual logins to their staff members, allowing them to track system changes via an Activity Log without ever sharing client passwords.

This separation allows the homeowner to retain control over the aesthetic features that matter most to them, without wandering into the technical weeds. 

“I love the fact that there’s a pro side and a customer-friendly side… you’re not bogging down the customer with all the things they really don’t need to see,” says Edwin Escobar of Regal Pools. 

5. Localized Control

App control is convenient, but relying 100% on the cloud could lead to troubleshooting calls if a homeowner upgrades their router or experiences a local ISP outage.

EDGE provides a convenient, always available, always ready interface via a dedicated in-home touchscreen tablet, the Home Hub. The tablet communicates locally with the equipment pad, providing full access to personalized scenes, schedules, and equipment controls entirely independent of an internet connection. If the home’s WiFi drops, the pool is still within the customer’s (and your) control. 

“Honestly, coming with the in-home controller for the customer because losing internet access, meaning they lose control of their pool, is just a nightmare for us… obviously, all that being local is going to make a huge difference,” explains a representative from Aqua Doctors/Azurion. 

Future-Proofing the Backyard

The one constant in the technological age is change. Homeowner expectations change, technology innovates. The true value of any automation system is its ability to keep up. Rather than forcing pool pros into a continuous loop of hardware replacements, AquaLink EDGE enables automatic software updates that continually deliver new features, expanded equipment compatibility, and performance enhancements wirelessly through the Fluidra Evolve framework. 

AquaLink^® EDGE^™ transforms the equipment pad from a fragmented group of components into a cohesive, continually learning operating system. This innovation is a win-win for pool owners and service pros alike. Homeowners get a worry-free luxury experience, while pros get the tools they need to diagnose and fix issues faster, and spend more time scaling their businesses. 

Sign up now to stay updated on AquaLink^® EDGE^™ .

There are luxury pools. And then there are Lucas Lagoons projects.

For more than a decade, Lucas Congdon has built a reputation as one of the most recognizable names in high-end custom pool design. Millions of viewers first discovered him through the hit television series Insane Pools, where elaborate grottos, towering waterfalls, hidden caves, massive rock formations, and resort-style backyards became his trademark.

What separated Congdon from many other celebrity pool builders wasn’t simply the scale of the projects. It was the way his pools felt immersive. The environments Lucas Lagoons created rarely looked like conventional backyard swimming pools. They looked more like private resorts hidden inside residential properties — spaces carefully designed to transport homeowners somewhere else entirely.

Over time, that philosophy evolved well beyond the kind of residential work that first made Congdon famous.

Today, Lucas Lagoons has become one of the industry’s go-to firms for immersive luxury aquatic environments, particularly when it comes to one specialty that very few builders in the country tackle at the same level: custom lazy rivers.

Not just residential lazy rivers either.

Commercial ones too.

In recent years, Congdon and his team have steadily expanded into boutique resort work, increasingly elaborate luxury residential compounds, and massive custom aquatic environments that blur the line between private backyard and full-scale destination experience. Along the way, Lucas Lagoons has developed a growing reputation for projects that combine entertainment, engineering, and escapism in ways few builders attempt.

That progression is perhaps best represented by Congdon’s newest feature project — a sprawling tropical-inspired backyard centered around an erupting volcano spa and a winding resort-style lazy river.

Before getting to the volcano project itself, however, Congdon reflected on another milestone build that helped establish Lucas Lagoons as a serious player in the commercial aquatic space: the massive renovation project at The Inn at Christmas Place in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Bringing a New Focus to Commercial Pools

When Pool Magazine last spoke with Congdon several years ago, the Christmas Place project was still deep in construction. Even then, it was obvious the scale and complexity of the build represented something very different from a traditional residential project.

“This is a hotel that obviously relies heavily on being open, and this is a heavy-duty construction project,” Congdon said.

Unlike a private residential backyard, the resort remained operational throughout much of the renovation process, forcing Lucas Lagoons to carefully phase construction while working around existing guests, infrastructure, utilities, and structural limitations buried throughout the property.

“There was a big water slide pool that was already there, tons of concrete decking, all kinds of infrastructure for the hotel — drainage lines, power — anything you could imagine was underneath the ground there,” he explained.

The completed project now features a large lazy river, multiple spas, extensive hardscaping, fire features, outdoor gathering areas, and naturalistic rockwork designed to blend seamlessly into the surrounding Tennessee mountain landscape. Congdon said the build also pushed the company creatively in several new directions, including the use of artificial snow effects designed to reinforce the property’s Christmas theme.

“We had never done artificial snow before,” he said. “We collaborated with a lot of different people we hadn’t worked with before and a lot of people that we had. But in the end, what an amazing project.”

The scale of the project also required significant logistical coordination. Congdon and members of his team spent extended periods living in Tennessee throughout the build, balancing the demands of construction with the realities of working inside an active hospitality environment.

“One of my partners Ross, the designer, he was there with his family for quite a while,” Congdon said. “A lot of sacrifice to be able to kind of move into Tennessee.”

The project ultimately became a major turning point for Lucas Lagoons because it demonstrated that the company’s immersive design philosophy could successfully translate into commercial hospitality work without losing the naturalistic aesthetic that made the brand famous in the first place.

Lazy Rivers Now Becoming a Hallmark

As the Christmas Place project gained attention, so did another aspect of Congdon’s work that has increasingly become one of the defining specialties of Lucas Lagoons: luxury lazy rivers.

Most commercial pools are designed around function and capacity. Congdon approaches them from an entirely different perspective.

“We’re trying to bring the sexy back,” he said.

That philosophy has become central to the company’s expansion into boutique resort and hospitality work. Rather than pursuing generic commercial projects, Lucas Lagoons has focused on environments that feel experiential — spaces designed to create atmosphere and emotional impact rather than simply serving as recreational amenities.

According to Congdon, creating those experiences in commercial construction comes with a completely different set of challenges than residential work.

“Commercial’s a different beast,” he explained. “There’s so many rules and regulations, and to be creative it takes a lot of thought because there’s just so many rules.”

Even so, Congdon believes too many commercial pools still feel sterile and uninspired.

“Most commercial pools are pretty plain Jane,” he said. “They’re just big bodies of water. There’s nothing really sexy about them.”

Lazy rivers fundamentally change that dynamic because they transform a swimming pool into an experience rather than simply a body of water. That shift has helped fuel increasing demand among both hospitality clients and luxury homeowners looking to recreate the feeling of a destination resort within a private residential setting.

That growing specialization eventually led to one of the company’s most ambitious and visually striking projects to date: the volcano pool.

This Backyard is Erupting With Creativity

At first glance, the volcano project feels less like a residential backyard and more like a private tropical resort hidden somewhere along the Hawaiian coastline. Towering palms surround a winding lazy river while carved tiki features, dramatic rockwork, immersive lighting, and dense landscaping create an environment that feels cinematic without becoming overproduced.

At the center of it all sits the feature that immediately commands attention: a massive erupting volcano spa designed to look and behave like a natural volcanic formation.

Surprisingly, Congdon says the project did not originally begin with that concept.

“It was starting out kind of a typical Lucas Lagoons with a grotto and a lazy river,” he explained. “The clients had just gone to Hawaii and got all inspired by volcanoes and the tikis and all the faces and stuff.”

Around the same time, Congdon himself had recently traveled to Hawaii and found inspiration in the islands’ volcanic terrain and dramatic natural stone formations. That shared inspiration gradually evolved into one of the most technically ambitious features Lucas Lagoons has ever attempted.

Building a Volcano Spa That Actually Feels Real

The volcano spa sits elevated above the lazy river system like a natural landform emerging from the landscape. Creating something believable, however, required careful restraint.

“We’re very careful not to have things look too themey or fake or contrived,” Congdon said. “Disney’s cool and everything, but we’re not Disney. We like things to really feel authentic.”

The project began with the construction of a raised spa shell positioned roughly five feet above grade. From there, the team built a massive artificial rock structure around it designed to convincingly replicate volcanic stone formations.

Interestingly, the project represented one of Lucas Lagoons’ first major departures from relying almost exclusively on natural stone.

“We’re best known for our natural stone,” Congdon explained. “But the same artist who helped us with the snow in Tennessee helped us carve that rock.”

The realism comes from an enormous amount of detail work. Water from the spa spills through carefully carved lava channels illuminated with embedded red lighting and crushed red glass to simulate glowing molten lava flowing down the surface of the volcano.

“We used this red glass and red lights,” he said. “As the water’s flowing down, it kind of looks like lava moving.”

The volcano even erupts.

A custom blower system periodically builds pressure before releasing bursts of water through the crater opening while integrated misters simulate rising volcanic smoke.

“Every so often it kind of erupts and pushes extra water out of the spa,” Congdon said.

Even the pathway leading to the spa was designed with realism in mind. Rather than using conventional stairs, the team created a winding artificial turf ramp designed to resemble a volcanic trail cutting through the terrain.

“I didn’t want to do stairs coming up because you would never see stairs on a volcano,” he explained.

The result is immersive and dramatic without becoming cartoonish, something Congdon clearly views as an important distinction.

“It looks so real, so authentic,” he said. “It’s not cheesy.”

Engineering the Ultimate Backyard Lazy River

While the volcano spa may be the visual centerpiece of the project, the lazy river itself remains equally impressive from an engineering standpoint.

Congdon says Lucas Lagoons continues taking on increasingly large and sophisticated lazy river projects, including one current build exceeding $10 million that features a 5,000-square-foot grotto, interconnected multi-level pools, acrylic viewing panels, cliff-jumping areas, plunge pools, and extensive resort-style hydraulic systems.

At that scale, the projects function more like private waterparks than traditional residential pools.

For the volcano project, Lucas Lagoons once again utilized Riverflow pump systems to achieve the aggressive current effect that gives the river its authentic resort feel.

“We’ve had a lot of luck with the product,” Congdon said. “It pushes a lot of water.”

According to Congdon, maintaining proper current flow throughout a lazy river requires far more planning than most people realize.

“If people really want the water moving, you really want a pump closer to every 50 to 75 feet,” he explained.

That attention to detail is one of the reasons Lucas Lagoons has increasingly become associated with luxury lazy river design at the highest level of the market.

The Next Evolution of Lucas Lagoons

As Lucas Lagoons projects have continued growing in both complexity and visibility, Congdon says he began noticing a recurring comment online from fans and prospective clients.

“‘If I ever hit the lottery, I’m calling you to build my pool.’”

That recurring sentiment helped inspire the company’s newest initiative: Designer Series Pools.

“These pools are pre-designed,” Congdon explained. “The idea is that all our custom jobs take a while to design and engineer.”

The Designer Series program offers pre-designed Lucas Lagoons pools ranging from roughly $250,000 to $750,000 while utilizing a growing network of authorized contractors around the country to build them locally under Lucas Lagoons guidance and standards.

The model significantly reduces travel, engineering, and logistical expenses while allowing the company to expand nationally without sacrificing quality control.

“When I was dragging my team all around the country building these pools, by the time you pay all the guys and the per diem and the travel, it’s an average of over $100,000 per job,” Congdon said.

The company currently has several authorized contractors operating within the program, with additional builders preparing to join in the near future.

“We started it just over a year ago,” Congdon said. “We already have five authorized contractors, and we’ve got almost ten more ready to go.”

Congdon says the program has allowed Lucas Lagoons to create a system where clients can still experience the company’s signature style and design philosophy while working with trusted builders in their own markets.

“We do our best to vet them all,” he said. “We go through their financials, make sure they’re not going to take a deposit and not be able to finish the job.”

For Congdon, the Designer Series represents more than simply scaling the Lucas Lagoons brand. It represents a way to bring the company’s immersive design philosophy to more homeowners while still maintaining the creativity and authenticity that helped make the brand successful in the first place.

And judging by the volcano pool now gracing the cover of Pool Magazine, Lucas Congdon is still finding new ways to push the boundaries of what luxury pool design can become.

Ready to take a deeper dive?

Listen to our entire discussion with Lucan Congdon on the Pool Magazine Podcast.

Pixel by Wow Design is a new porcelain format that reinterprets the language of mosaic through a precisely engraved grid, combining material continuity with visual richness.

Available in the Sukabumi, Marble, Sabil, and Vestige collections, Pixel demonstrates how a single geometry can transform the expression of different material concepts.

Designed for swimming pools, spas, and wellness interiors, Pixel transforms the interaction between water, light, and ceramics into surfaces of remarkable visual depth.

Pixel is born from the interaction between water, light, and ceramics. Designed for swimming pools, spas, and wellness interiors. The new format by WOW Design transforms reflections, texture, and colour into an experience defined by serenity and wellbeing.

Pixel introduces a new interpretation of the ceramic surface through a precisely engraved grid that transforms the perception of the material. Available across a selection of WOW Design collections, the new format combines the continuity of a 15×15 cm porcelain tile with the visual language of mosaic.

Although each tile is presented as a continuous surface, the engraved geometry creates small tesserae of approximately 3.5 x 3.5 cm, generating a new interaction between texture, light and colour.

The continuity of a tile. The visual richness of a mosaic.

Pixel’s precisely engraved grid brings a new dimension to the ceramic surface. In aquatic environments, the reflections and movement of water intensify this effect, enriching chromatic nuances and creating a richer perception of the material.

Designed for swimming pools, spas, wellness interiors, and other wet areas, Pixel responds to a growing demand for surfaces capable of bringing texture and visual richness to spaces shaped by water.

One format, multiple expressions.

Pixel is available in the Sukabumi, Marble, Sabil, and Vestige collections, preserving the identity of each while transforming its visual expression.

Inspired by the natural stone traditionally used in aquatic environments, Sukabumi finds a new chromatic intensity through Pixel, amplifying the vibrancy of its green tones and the movement of its reflections beneath the water. Marble translates the timeless elegance of marble into a more dynamic scale, where veins and mineral nuances acquire a renewed reading through the engraved grid.

In Sabil, the richness of the glazes and tonal variations takes centre stage, creating surfaces full of movement and nuance. Meanwhile, Vestige finds in Pixel a way to reinforce the expressive character of its textures inspired by the passage of time, enhancing both visual depth and the tactile quality of the material.